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- 32
Libgate Camp,
Kent, England.
April 14, 1916,
Tear Mother end Lad,-
I know I’m a little aheqd of my.biweekly schedule, but as the kid and I intend to take a trip up to Canterbury on Sunday, thought I*d better write while I had the chance, Canterbury is about,lp miles from here, and as you know, is the home of the famous Cathedral, If our passes go through, we intend taking the 9.30 train out of Shomcliffe, and getting back about*, eleven, Hope we get our passes, as I am looking forward to seeing the Cathedral and town.
Since writing Marjorie last week, have done quite a bit of running around, as the post oards I mailed from Cambridge may have suggested, light of us, Jim Stewart, Prank C., Loni Pascoe, Reg, B,, Goldie, Bud Middleton, Everett Logan and yours truly were picked to act as an escort for 70 men being transferred from the Shomcliffe Military Hospital to an isolation hospital at Cambridge, After drawing a day’s rations from the cookhouse, we left camp in charge of two sergeants and one officer. Walked down to the hospital, about two miles, and then rode with the patients in ambulances to Shomcliffe station. The patients (or prisoners as they really were) were locked into two carriages, and the eight of us piled into one compartment, then off for London. Arrived at the Cannon St, Station about 10,30, unloaded our natients, and then boarded the Underground for the Liverpool St, Station, The Underground trains run on a half minute schedule and sure do not lose any time between stations. The Liverpool St, station is one of the largest in London, and as we had to wait over an hour for our train had ample time to thoroughly explore it. It was here that I first saw the advantages of the compartment system on the railway carriages. They can empty a carriage of its passengers about ten times as fast as over in Canada, no high steps to. climb up or down, just step out of your compartment and you are on the platform. Trains coming and going every few minutes, and thousands of people running around. Also saw women baggage smashers, handling the big trucks, wheeling them around. Seemed to me that it would be pretty heavy work for them, but they seemed to like it judging from the way they talked'and carried on.
Pulled out at noon on our way up to Cambridge, Passed through * the east end of London for what1 seemed to be miles before we hit the open country. As we got farther on had ample instances of the damage wrought by the terrific storm that I think I mentioned hit England the day after we landed. Huge trees that must have stood for centuries, uprooted, and the telephone poles along the line all looked as though they had had a hard night. Made only one stop* at Bishons Stortford, on our way up, and arrived in Cambridge about 2 P.M, The party split here, 20 of the patients and three
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